The first U.S. industry to face a cap on its greenhouse gas emissions
is not, as may be expected, the coal-burning power utilities. It's not
the oil refineries, churning through crude. It's not the automakers,
manufacturing again.

It's the airline industry.

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Sometime this month, the European
Union will release a list of airlines it will regulate under its
existing cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide. Beginning in 2012,
all international flights landing in the region must abide by the
regulations. And several airlines on that list will have a decidedly
New World feel: Delta, United and American.

They are not alone. A
preliminary version of the list released earlier this year included
more than 700 airlines registered in the United States, out of some
2,800 airlines total. While this number is expected to dwindle --
weaning out small-scale operations -- all large U.S. carriers flying
into Europe expect to be on the finalized list.